an opportunity they cherish.
"Absolutely," said Crew head coach Robert Warzycha on whether Tuesday's game had perhaps more meaning than the league game. "We can clinch the second round of the Champions League and that is a very important game for the guys and also for the club. We can bounce back from this game, we have a game against New England at home. The game against Puerto Rico is very important."
Despite the loss, the team is brimming confidence without a hint of losing sight of their ultimate goals.
"If you look at the bigger picture we need to get some type of result in Puerto Rico which isn't going to be easy. It may be raining down there and the field is going to be bad as well," said Rogers.
The Crew earned the full three points at New England last weekend to secure top spot in the Eastern Conference and home-field advantage throughout the MLS Cup Playoffs, featuring a starting XI with eight players under the age of 25.
Guillermo Barros Schelotto did not see action in that match and played 56 minutes against United before coming off in favor of Jason Garey. He has started just four of the Crew's last 13 league matches, hampered by a hamstring injury, and his influence will be paramount not only during this critical stretch but certainly in their bid to repeat as MLS Cup champions.
"We have another very important game against Puerto Rico so I was trying to rest some guys basically for that game against Puerto Rico and obviously give some minutes to the other guys," said Warzycha.
Warzycha rested former United ironman Brian Carroll and stout defender Gino Padula while re-inserting Rogers and veteran defender Frankie Hejduk. Danny O'Rourke and Adam Moffat were also back on the park in their familiar roles. Emilio Renteria came on in the 66th minute and generated one quality opportunity that skidded just wide, but his night was cut short after he cut down Julius James out of bounds after the ball had rolled over the end line in the 83rd minute.
Throughout the course of the season, whatever combination Warzycha has pieced together has been effective.
"I think we have a very deep squad so you saw today on the field, I don't think the quality went down. We played a pretty good game," said Warzycha.
"We knew this was a two-game road trip for us," added O'Rourke. "Resting some guys like (Carroll) -- who has been in there playing every game same as Gino -- whoever has been in there we have been successful so we weren't even worried who was on the field. We came out in the second half and played well -- we couldn't buy a goal. They did a good job of packing it in after they scored and getting a lot of guys behind the ball."
Columbus was the better side throughout the match, winning most of the 50-50 balls and garnering more of the possession and quality chances, especially in the second half when they held United to zero shots.
"I thought we played pretty well actually," said Rogers. "We outshot them, we kept the ball pretty well; we weren't as sharp as we wanted to be in the final third. But I think the field had something to do with it; it was really slippery and wet. It just wasn't there."
Columbus headed into the match with United with a chance to clinch the Supporters' Shield but were just a shade off in the final third with the final ball and their finishing.
"We played a good game. We dominated 90 minutes but good play by D.C. in the first half with the goal," said Warzycha. "We lost the game 1-0 and I am not worrying about us scoring the goals. We have 49 points so we have actually scored a lot. Today wasn't our day. We created chances and what is very important for me is that we created the chances. The goals are going to come when the time comes. We could be a little sharper in front of the goal, we had 10 shots but nothing went in.
"We treated this game as another game," he continued. "We tried to win the game; I wasn't thinking about the Supporters' Shield. We are first in the East so that is a big accomplishment and that is more important for me than anything else is the home-field advantage. The positive thing is we are playing good soccer and we are dangerous when we play and creating chances and that is the positive I can take from this game."
Chris Snear is a contributor to MLSnet.com
